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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28854525">What If?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicNerd/pseuds/EpicNerd'>EpicNerd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akumatized Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Kwami Swap, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Deserves Better, Strong Marinette Dupain-Cheng</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 04:46:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>12,555</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28854525</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicNerd/pseuds/EpicNerd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette is stressed beyond belief after the departure of Master Fu, and everything bubbles over and results in her akumatization after she wishes that she could trade places with Chat Noir. When she gets her wish, however, she soon discovers how jarring such a wish can be.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>131</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marinette scrambles out of bed, falling onto the floor in the process. Once again, she had been so tired that she slept through her alarm, and now she was late for school. Again. Her parents were going to be so mad at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t be late again! What if Mom and Dad ground me again, Tikki?” Marinette exclaims, sliding into her closet to quickly get dressed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Slow down, Marinette, before you hurt yourself!” the kwami replied, fluttering around the Guardian’s head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t afford to get another detention!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette, fully dressed, shoots out of the closet and out of her room, ushering Tikki into her purse. Without grabbing anything to eat for breakfast, Marinette rushes out of the bakery, booking it to school.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t ring. Don’t ring. Don’t ring. Don’t ring!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just as she enters the courtyard, the tardy bell rings, sealing Marinette’s fate. She groans, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Trudging up the steps, Marinette enters Ms. Bustier’s classroom silently, slipping into her seat without saying anything.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette, how nice of you to grace us with your presence. I’m sure Mr. Damocles would appreciate your company as well. Principal’s office; now!” Bustier snaps, pointing to the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Reaching under her desk, Marinette’s hand swipes at nothing, and her eyes grow wide as she realizes she forgot her backpack in her room. Sighing, she looks at her feet as she leaves the classroom as soon as she enters it, ignoring Chloé’s sneer. Quietly walking across the hallway, Marinette smiles weakly at Tikki, who was gazing up at her with saddened eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The visit to the principal’s office was short and simple with Marinette walking out with two slips: one for tardiness and one for detention. Reasoning that she was marked late in the system anyway, she decided to go ahead and return home for her backpack.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Not wanting to bring her time-managing skills to the attention of her parents. She ducks into an alley and transforms, Ladybug zips to the rooftop of the bakery, dropping into her room and snagging her things before retracing her steps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Trying again, Marinette enters the school, going up the steps and entering the classroom once again. Handing her note to the teacher, Marinette turns to sit next to Alya when she receives a sight that slapped her in the face. Sitting in her seat, Lila was leaning forward, whispering something to Adrien. Alya just offers an unhelpful shrug and sympathetic look.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Dejected, Marinette trudges to the back of the classroom reclaiming the seat she once sat in the day that Lila returned. Taking her textbook and notebook out, she quickly writes down the notes she missed and then a few pages ahead before taking her phone out to see that she had a text from Luka. Smiling, she unlocks her phone to reply, not noticing a small, black butterfly flutter away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For the first half of the day, class was uneventful, and Marinette felt disconnected for the most part. She only tuned back in to her surroundings when she was descending the stairs of the courtyard to see Adrien approaching a car that Kagami was getting out of. She couldn’t see Adrien’s face, but she saw Kagami smiling, and she knew that Adrien must have been, too. That made Marinette’s neutral expression curve down into a frown, and her chest tightened. She went down the rest of the steps and slipped into the vacant locker room. Locking herself in one of the bathroom stalls, Marinette sits on the toilet, balling her hands into fists as she scowls on the ground. However, she was pulled from her spiral by her phone going off once again. She pulls it out of her purse, ignoring Tikki, and she saw a text from Alya, inviting her to get ice cream after school. Though she still felt like she was in a fit of despair, she smiled weakly. Only Tikki noticed the small, black butterfly flutter away again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though she stayed in the bathroom stall for lunch, she returned to class as normal for the second half of the day. After school, she served her detention time, staring up at the clock the whole time as she was not even allowed to do homework. When she returned home, she tried to not talk to anyone on her way to her room. At least, she tried to not talk to anyone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette? Can you stay for a moment?” Tom asked, handing a bag of pastries to a customer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s up, Dad?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Turning his back on the store, Mr. Dupain speaks in a low, calm voice so as not to be overheard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your mother and I have been thinking, and we believe that it would be best if you took a break from hanging out with your friends for a little bit while you work on getting your grades up, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette swallowed, her eyes falling to the floor as she nodded solemnly, continuing on her way to her room. She closes the trapdoor behind her, carefully placing her purse on her desk before beginning her homework. Time ticked away, and it was doing so far too fast for Marinette’s comfort.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette dug her hands through her hair as she stared down at all of the homework she had to do, not even including the tests she had to study for. It all seemed overwhelming to the point that she was considering not doing it at all. Her friends’ commission requests sat in a journal to the side, untouched since she first jotted them down. Not only that, but she had to blow off plans to go get ice cream because her parents had just grounded her, though the timing of breaking this to Alya, directly after the blogger mentioned that Lila would be there, started an argument. That ended with radio silence from Alya’s end, and Marinette threw her phone away onto her daybed, huffing as she turned her attention back to her homework.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why is none of this making sense, Tikki? I took diligent notes during class, asked the appropriate amount of questions, and paid vivid attention. It was logical when the teacher was walking us through things, but now it’s completely incomprehensible!” Marinette exclaimed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe you should take a break.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can’t, Tikki!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t have time! I don’t have time for anything anymore! There is just-! No! Time!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Calm down, Marinette. Everything’s okay. You’re Ladybug and Guardian of the miraculouses. Master Fu wouldn’t have entrusted you if he didn’t believe that you could handle any and every crisis,” the kwami said cheerfully, hoping her bubbly outlook would rub off on her wearer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, but I don’t think any lucky charm could fix this mess that I’ve made of my homework,” Marinette replies, not exactly in a joking manner, but not appearing as stressed as before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tikki giggles nonetheless before settling on top of the girl’s hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know things seem really hard right now, but it’ll get better. I promise!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I hope so, Tikki,” Marinette breathes before returning her attention to her homework, not noticing a small, black butterfly lingering nearby.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After hours of refusing to take a break from her homework, Marinette finally finishes, though she feels no relief of stress. Instead, she looks up at her computer, seeing that it was time for patrol.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Spots on,” she says half-heartedly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Transforming into Ladybug, the heroine jumps up through the skylight before swinging off into the night, no energy behind her movements. Eventually, Chat Noir caught up to her, though she didn’t stop for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything okay, Ladybug? You didn’t turn around when I called for you,” Chat notes, springing up and down with his staff.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All good. What about you?” she asked, still not glancing over at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had a great day! In school, we learned some really fascinating facts about European history. And, during lunch, this girl I like and I ate together at my house. She’s so amazing, Ladybug! You’re still my best friend, and I wish I could tell you everything about her, but that might risk blowing my identity.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ladybug stops short, huffing as she finally turns to glare at Chat Noir.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Will you stop with the identity thing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I wasn’t asking-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m done, Chat. I’m going home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ladybug arches her arm back to swing her yo-yo as Chat grimaces as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s been with you, lately? You’ve been so short with me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gee, whatever could be up with me? Could it be that I was forced to be the new Guardian despite not actually having proper training and that I’m still a teenager? Could it be that, without Master Fu, I now have no one left to rely on? My friends and family can’t know anything about my secret identity.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have me. Just relax, LB,” Chat says, reaching out to Ladybug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, she rips her arm away, fire in her eyes as tears threaten to spill down her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Relax? Relax?! Were you not listening to anything that I was just saying?” she yelled, the small, black butterfly fluttering closer, disguised under the night sky’s lighting.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chat glares back at her, pursing his lips, though he did not respond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You act like relaxing is such an easy thing to do, like I’m clearly an idiot for not thinking of doing that in the first place! I’m not an idiot, Chat Noir! I don’t exactly have the freedom that you have when putting on the mask!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re the one who must not have been listening to me anytime I talk about my personal life. If you did, then you would know that it’s not freeing.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, what I would give if I could just-!...switch with you! Maybe, finally, I would get to relax! And you would understand why there’s no possibility that I can!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At those words, the akuma fused into Ladybug’s earrings, and her body goes rigid as her face contorted in pain, Hawkmoth’s mask appearing in front of her eyes. She blows puffs of air out between her grit teeth as she fights to expel the villain from her mind, not even seeing Chat Noir anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hello, Ladybug,” Hawkmoth’s sinister voice comes from directly by her ears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She whips around, looking for him as pain erupted from the powers of the akuma conflicting with the powers of the ladybug miraculous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Get out of my head,” she whimpers, clutching her ears as tears dripped down her cheeks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Faintly, she could hear Chat’s voice, but it was too far away for her to be able to understand what he was saying.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I can give you what you want. I can give you the power to achieve what you desire, peace.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“If I give you my and Chat Noir’s miraculouses, you’ll make a wish that comes at far too high a cost,” Ladybug spits, frothing at the mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That won’t concern you. Accept my akuma, Dame de Paix.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The pain becomes too unbearable, and Ladybug can no longer fight off the akuma.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, Chat Noir,” she sobs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Absorbed in black matter, Ladybug transforms into Dame de Paix. As an akuma, her skin was porcelain white while she wore a jet-black version of her suit, a scarf of the same color, and bowler hat that looked the same as the one she made for Adrien, though this one’s feather was black as well, as if plucked from a raven. In her hand, she held a black cane. The handle of it was a glass dome, where the ladybug miraculous floated inside. She was able to see Chat Noir now, who did not flee, though he looked afraid. Her movements were slow, and she felt in a daze. All she does is, with a ghostly expression, point the handle of her cane at Chat, and a black beam shoots out, consuming him. Then, the world goes dark.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette’s head bolts off of her pillow as she gasps for air. It took a few moments of deep breathing before she could ground herself enough to look around her room. Through the windows in front of her, she saw the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Smiling with determination in her eyes, she got out of bed to prepare for the day as quickly as possible. Today was the day she would be sneaking out of the house. Today, Marinette Agreste would finally be a student at a real public school.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marinette raced up the steps of the high school that she had managed to enroll herself in. However, she only made it up a few steps when a grey car raced around the corner and screeched to a stop next to the curb. Marinette turned around, mouth agape at being caught, when she made eye-contact with Nathalie, her father’s assistant, and Gorilla, her driver and bodyguard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette, please reconsider. You know what your father wants,” the young woman said.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“This is what I want to do,” Marinette replies, putting her hand over her heart as her eyes narrowed, not in anger, but in frustration.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For so long, she had been cooped up in the cold, barren mansion with not a welcoming soul in sight. She turns back to race into the school, when the sound of someone groaning snags her. Whipping her head, she sees an old man on the ground, reaching for a wooden cane in front of him before wincing in pain. Without a single thought crossing her mind, Marinette bounds over to the man. She grabs his cane, presenting it to him, before helping him back up by the elbow with a warm smile on her face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you, young lady,” the old man says, returning the smile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette turns back to continue her way into the school, when she sees Nathalie and Gorilla blocking her path to the stairs. Her eyes cast down, she walks up to them, familiar with their cold expressions.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just want to go to school like everybody else. What’s so wrong with that? Please don’t tell my father about all this,” she says, defeated.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gorilla puts a hand on her back, guiding her to the car. Marinette rests her head on her hand as she gazes out the window, a pit of gloom settling in her chest. When they returned home, she had to stifle a gasp at seeing her father standing in the foyer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You are not going to school. I’ve already told you,” he says sternly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But, Father-!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything you need is right here, where I can keep an eye on you. I will not have you outside in that dangerous world.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s not dangerous, Father. I’m always stuck in here by myself. Why can’t I go out and make friends, just like everybody else?” Marinette asked quickly, hoping that her speed will be fast enough to not be interrupted.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Because you are not like everyone else! You are my daughter!” Gabriel snaps, glaring at Marinette.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She ducks her head, hiding between her shoulders as she turns her head away. Her father silently decides that the discussion is over, and he returns to his office, closing the doors behind him. Nathalie begins to say something, but Marinette can’t bring herself to be polite and listen or even stay in the foyer. Instead, she runs up the stairs, locking herself away in her room. Throwing her bookbag on the floor, she lays down on her bed and buries her face in her pillow, the pit growing larger and threatening to choke her. However, her despair is short-lived, as the sounds of thunder and crashes fill the air. Shooting back out of her room, she opens the front door, looking beyond the courtyard and through the iron gates at police cars stationed outside the mansion, armed forces aiming at something that Marinette couldn’t quite see. That is, until she sees a giant beast made of boulders step towards the policemen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s going on?” she exclaims to herself before rushing back in, up the stairs, and launching herself over the couch in her room, swiftly grabbing the TV remote and turning it on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On the screen, Nadja Shamack shows a live interview of the mayor giving a press conference before she, herself, clarifies that an actual supervillain was roaming the streets of Paris. While the news feed cuts away to a clip of the head of the police department, Marinette catches something in the corner of her eye that stands out against the white coffee table. Looking down, she tenses up even further to see a small, black hexagonal box with a weird symbol in red on top of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s this doing here?” she asks the empty room, picking it up.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Opening it, she barely registers seeing a ring inside before she has to shield her eyes as a large, bright green orb shoots up out of it. When the light fades, what looks like a hovering, tiny cat appears, asleep before waking up and yawning. Marinette stares at it in perplexion, baffling herself by how...not-bizarre...what just happened was. Gazing at this floating, living thing didn’t seem brand new to Marinette. Though no words of recollection came to mind, nor could she pinpoint how she knew what this thing was, she recognized the feeling of remembrance. Hesitantly, she reaches a finger out to the tiny, magical cat before yanking her hand back when it straightens up, looking back at her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Didn’t you ever learn about keeping your hands to yourself? Plagg, nice to meet you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette just stares, momentarily watching Plagg zip around the room and trying to eat different things. She couldn’t explain why, but she was caught up on the thing’s name. She briefly tried to follow the echo that she hoped would guide her to a memory that she could use to link herself to the thing. Wanting answers, she begins chasing Plagg around her room, both trying to stop him from biting all her things and also get his attention.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, while it’s distracted, trying to eat the TV remote, Marinette quickly scales her rock-climbing wall, getting to the top before pushing off and spinning around, launching herself at Plagg and grabbing it, roughly landing back on the couch.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you, and why are you here?” Marinette asks, ignoring the thing’s slight yelp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It turns in her hands to face her, narrowing its eyes as if she had asked the easiest question in existence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Look, I’m a kwami. I grant powers. Yours is the power of destruction. Got it?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though she became caught on the word “kwami”, just as she had with the thing’s name, she still was beyond-confused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“My dad’s pranking me, right? Wait, he couldn’t! He has no sense of humor,” Marinette says, talking to herself more so than the kwami.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Your father must never know I exist; or anyone; for that matter!” Plagg snaps, breaking free of Marinette’s hold, hovering in front of her instead.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why can’t I tell Father?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t you know anything about superheroes, kid? They always have to keep their identities a secret!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“But I’m stuck here! I’m not even allowed to go to school! What good is a superhero who’s imprisoned inside her own house?” Marinette asked, feeling frustrated by her father’s commands once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No good,” Plagg answers, rolling across the floor on a toilet paper roll, “That’s why it’s all going to change soon. If you’re willing to change, that is.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette looks down at the ring in her hand, which had turned silver after Plagg appeared. She slides it onto her right ring finger before she jolts slightly at realizing that her brain had automatically told her that that was what she needed to do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“By saying ‘Claws out’, you can transform,” Plagg explains, popping his head out of a second empty toilet paper roll.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette’s eyes briefly dart back and forth in thought, still trying to make sense of the weird feeling of nostalgia.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Got it,” she says absently before snapping back to the present, “Plagg, claws out!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, I haven’t finished explaining-!” the kwami exclaims before being sucked into the ring, turning it black once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette is then absorbed in a green light of her own, warmth and familiarity wrap around her, as well as feelings of confidence and capability. When the feelings, as well as the light, fades away, she is left standing there, with no Plagg in sight. She looks down at her hands, seeing them encased in leather, with sharp nails on the ends of her fingers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Spinning on her feet, she rushes over to the wall of windows, stopping in front of one. She stares at her reflection, taking in the sight of her completely covered in black leather, including a mask around her eyes that made them turn green, and even two cat ears on top of her head. Her hair was significantly longer, and it was tied in a neat braid...just like her mother used to wear hers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, Marinette doesn’t take the time to silently grieve once more for her lost mother. Instead, she is engulfed once more by a sense of recognition when she gazes at her reflection. What seemed like an event overlapping reality, Marinette watches as she gazes at a giant, pink, robotic doll while she stands on one of the top levels of the Eiffel Tower. She didn’t jump back in fear, for she knew that the doll wasn’t really right in front of her. However, the brief flash of the scene didn’t feel fake or made up, either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Beginning to feel overwhelmed, Marinette shakes her head. Reaching up, she unlocks and opens one of the panels in the wall of windows, surprisingly able to leap onto the sill with ease. Hesitantly, she leaps out, somehow able to gain enough momentum to barely grab onto the top of the stone fence encasing her home. Quickly, she scrambles up, hoisting herself over and allowing herself to drop down onto the road before. She begins sprinting away, but quickly stops and turns around, looking back at her home. Sighing, she reached behind her, grabbing the silver rod she had seen was clipped to her back. Gazing at it, she notices a neon-green paw print on it. Curiously, she presses it, which sends her launching into the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It pole-vaults her through the sky and onto an adjacent roof. For some reason, the feeling of flying through the air with no harness or any other sort of safety precaution didn’t scare her. Recovering very quickly, she looked around to see if anyone was watching her. When she saw that no one was in sight, she laid the extended staff down, creating a very, very narrow path to another roof. Holding her arms out on either side of her, she begins stepping across, as if she were on a tightrope. She is only able to make it halfway across when she hears yelling coming from above her. Looking up, she sees something red speeding towards her. She has no time to react and get out of the way, and so the red thing crashes into her, sending them both down. She joins its screaming before something wraps around both of their waists, snagging them before they can finish plummeting to the ground. Hanging upside down, Marinette squeezes her eyes shut for the sudden jerk that pulls them to a stop before she opens her eyes again. Staring back at her was a boy that was wearing a suit that looked to be made of the same material as hers was, though his was red with black polka-dots. It reminded her of a ladybug, and her thoughts snag on that as well, keeping her quiet. The boy decides to be the one to break the silence.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry for dropping in like that,” he says, laughing while clearly embarrassed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette rolled her eyes before mentally snapping at herself for being so rude.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘What was that? I’ve never rolled my eyes at anyone before.’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy untangles them, and Marinette is able to land safely on the ground, though she was still in a slight bit of a daze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You must be the partner my kwami was telling me about. I’m...Mister Bug. Yeah, Mister Bug. And you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy tugs on the string that had been binding them together, and her staff dislodges, shooting towards her. Somehow, she is able to react quickly, grabbing it just before it can strike her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry!” Mister Bug exclaims, looking sheepish once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s...fine…” Marinette mumbles, staring at her staff, “I’m, um, Lady Noire.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Once again, Marinette was suddenly both still on the ground and on top of the Eiffel Tower at the same time, though the boy was there as well this time. For some reason, there was a feeling of trust, as if she had known him for a long time. She clenches her hand around her staff, shaking the echo away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you sure I didn’t hit you in the head?” Mister Bug asks, reaching a hand out in concern.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What? No, I’m fine, really.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their conversation is cut short by rumbling, and they turn just in time to see an entire building be reduced to rubble as it crumbles to the ground. Rather than freaking out, like she knew she should be doing, Marinette instead is filled with a sense of determination, launching herself off towards the chaos.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, where are you going?” Mister Bug asks, not following her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady Noire stops, turning back to look at her partner.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“To save Paris, right?” she asks rhetorically before continuing on her way to where she knew she would find Stoneheart.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She is able to make it to the futbol stadium just in time to block Stoneheart from attacking a boy on the ground. Dropping beside the teen, she looks up at the akuma, an echo resonating once again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Stop it, Ivan!” she exclaims before jerking her head back, caught up on how she somehow knew what the akuma’s real name was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I am Stoneheart!” the rock beast roars before swinging a giant fist down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady Noire is barely able to jump back and avoid it; she then uses the monster’s thrown-off balance to her advantage, rocketing up its arm and swinging down on its head as hard as she could before leaping off of it and turning around midair so as not to have her back to it. Her eyes grow wide as Stoneheart only grows larger, stomping its foot before turning around to charge at her again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mister Bug, where are you?” she calls out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She dodges a few more attacks before the akuma picks up a goal net and throws it in frustration. Lady Noire watches it fly through the air, and she sees that it’s going to directly hit a girl that was just sitting there with her phone out. Thinking quickly, Lady Noire throws her staff, extending it to catch on the fence outlining the field. The net bounces off of it, avoiding the girl completely. Lady Noire is barely able to sigh in relief before Stoneheart grabs her, lifting her into the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, Mister Bug appears, sliding between Stoneheart’s legs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Animal cruelty? How shameful!” he jokes before yanking the string of his yo-yo, sending the akuma crashing to the ground.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady Noire tumbles away and climbs to her feet just as Mister Bug rushes up to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sorry I took so long, Lady Noire.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s alright, Mister Bug. You’re here now, so let’s do this,” she says, smiling as she held her fists out in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, we know that Stoneheart only gets bigger every time we hit him, so we have to try something new…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How about we try out our new powers? Lucky charm!” Mister Bug exclaims, slinging his yo-yo into the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A diving suit materializes, dropping into his hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A super power,” he says sarcastically, looking at it and examining it at different angles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While Mister Bug looks around to try and figure out how to use his lucky charm, Lady Noire, looks at Stoneheart, who was steadily approaching them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“His right arm...it’s kept closed…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another echo, without words, clues her in that what was akumatized wasn’t the person, but an object. It seemed obvious to her now, just as it was obvious that said object was whatever Stoneheart was holding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Just as she comes to this epiphanie, Mister Bug comes to one of his own.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got it! Don’t resist,” he says, sticking a water hose on the ground between them into the suit before wrapping his yo-yo around her ankles.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without warning, he begins spinning her around, ignoring her screams. Suddenly, her ankles are freed, and she is sling-shotted right into Stoneheart’s hand. Then, before she can try to escape, Mister Bug launches himself towards the akuma as well. Stoneheart opens his right hand to catch her, dropping a dark rock onto the field.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alya, the tap!” Mister Bug shouts.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl that had almost been crushed by the goal net nods in understanding, diving towards the nearby tap and turning on the hose. The diving suit is quickly inflated with water, and Stoneheart has to let go of his grip on Mister Bug. Her partner then wastes no time in sprinting towards the dark object, slamming his foot down on it. It shatters, and a dark-colored butterfly flaps out of it and begins fluttering away. Stoneheart is consumed, dissipating to become another teen boy. Lady Noire drops to the ground, landing with a thud. She turns to look at the akuma, then at Mister Bug.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something in her head twitches, and an instinct resurfaces.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The akuma needs to be purified!” she exclaims.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mister Bug briefly stares at her in bewilderment before he does so, capturing the butterfly and cleansing it. When he releases the white butterfly, he walks over to her and helps her up, not exactly letting go of her hand once she’s on her feet again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How’d you know that I needed to do that?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I, uh, my kwami told me!” Lady Noire says quickly, not wanting to seem bizarre to her new partner, not that she would know how to explain what was happening to her if she wanted to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, well, you were pretty awesome!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You were great, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In sync, they bump fists, saying “Pound it!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Brief confusion flashes over both of them, but neither have time to address what they just did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s going on? What am I doing here?” the teen that had been Stoneheart asks, looking around the stadium.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before either of them can answer, Mister Bug’s earrings begin beeping, and Lady Noire instinctively reaches for her own ear before dropping her hand to her side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I have to go, I guess,” Mister Bug says, “My kwami told me that I only had five minutes after using my special power before I transformed back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah; our identities must remain secret.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Farewell, milady,” Mister Bug says before bowing and turning to sprint away, “Let’s do this again soon, okay?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady Noire watches her partner swing off into the sky, and she finds that she can’t look away until she can’t see him anymore.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Milady…” she whispers to herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Turning around, she sees the teen staring at the fake grass of the field, his eyebrows furrowed, as he continues to sit on the ground. Lady Noire sees a crumpled piece of paper on the ground where the akuma had appeared from, and she walks over to it, picking it up and reading it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You haven’t even got the guts to tell Mylene you love her. Wuss.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gasping quietly, she turns back and walks over to stand next to the teen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Kim wrote it. He’s always making fun of me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady Noire gets on one knee, placing her hand on the boy’s shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y’know, you shouldn’t get so bent out of shape about that. There’s no shame in telling someone you love them.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uncanny, amazing, spectacular! Are you going to be protecting Paris from now on? How did you get your powers? Did you get bitten by a radioactive cat?” the girl from before asks, sticking her phone in front of Lady Noire.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Though she was used to being in front of a camera while being Marinette, Lady Noire didn’t really know what to do or say. So, instead, she stands up and begins walking away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I have so many questions, Miss…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Noire. Call me Lady Noire,” the superheroine answers before using her staff to launch herself out of the stadium and out of sight, smiling for what felt like the first time in a long while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On her way home, she soared higher and higher, watching the sun dip up and down in the sky. Flying through her open window, she lands back in her room, euphoria coursing through her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Um, claws in?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>To her luck, Plagg diffuses from the ring, dropping her transformation and turning her back into Marinette.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know what Father said, but, even if the world is a scary place, I can protect myself now. I am going to school tomorrow; I know it!” she says, determination shining in her eyes.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marinette once again raced up the stairs, determined that she won’t be stopped this time from getting to class. Just as she’s about to cross through the doors, she hears a car pull up behind her and a door quickly open and close.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette, don’t do this! Your father will be furious!” Nathalie calls out to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette paused, her nose scrunching up in thought.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tell him that you got here too late, please,” she says calmly before turning back and running into the courtyard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Within the school, Marinette looks around before spotting her only friend, Chloe, standing in a crowd of whom she could only guess to be the blonde’s other friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Chloe!” Marinette calls out, though she doesn’t wave or completely smile as she can sense that something tense just happened amongst the group, if another girl running away was any indication.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marikins, you came!” Chloe exclaimed before dashing over and wrapping her arms around Marinette in a familiar embrace.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Begrudgingly to Marinette, Chloe’s loud voice draws the attention of almost everyone else in the courtyard.</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“Marinette!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know her!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“She’s so beautiful!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Several students rush up to Chloe and Marinette, and the model is forced to put on her Charmer Smile and wave at the people surrounding her. She feels Chloe latch onto her arm, and the blonde begins pulling her towards the stairs. As they walk, people hold up magazines of her father’s latest issue, and she signs them all, feigning cheerfulness despite hating giving out autographs.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘So much for being like a normal kid,’ she thought to herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Up the stairs, Chloe makes a turn at a door and rushes in before turning around to gesture to a desk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wow! This is your seat, Marikins. I saved it just for you; right in front of me!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette hesitated before entering the classroom, patting Chloe’s shoulder with a “thanks” as she moved by to get to her seat. A boy with glasses, a baseball cap, and headphones was already sitting on one-half of the desk, and Marinette held her hand out to him to shake.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, hey...Marinette,” she said, introducing herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy doesn’t take her hand, but instead looks at her with an expression that Marinette didn’t understand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re friends with Chloe, then, huh?” he asks, suspiciously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette follows his eyes and turns around to see Chloe take gum out of her mouth and hand it to Sabrina, who then put it on another seat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, what’s that all about?” Marinette asked, her eyebrows furrowing.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The brats that sat here yesterday need a little attitude adjustment. I’m just commanding a bit of respect, that’s all,” Chloe explains, as if it should be obvious.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette gets down on her knee, wanting to get the gum off before anyone sits on it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Think that’s really necessary?” Marinette asked, feeling sympathetic to whoever sat there, though she didn’t know how she could have as no one had ever put gum on her seat before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’ve got a lot to learn about school culture, Marikins,” Chloe says with a giggle before walking away to sit in her seat, “Watch the master.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>While still trying to get the gum off, Marinette hears a gasp behind her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey! What are you doing?” a boy asks, crossing the room quickly to get to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I…” Marinette stumbles, losing her train of thought as she stares up at this boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The weird feeling from the day before came back, and her heart began pounding in her chest, her cheeks growing warm. She’s pulled away when she hears Chloe and Sabrina begin laughing behind them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ok, I get it. Good job, you three. Very funny,” the boy says, looking more than a little annoyed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no. I was just trying to take this off,” Marinette says quickly, springing back up to her feet to be eye-level with the boy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For some reason, she really didn’t want this boy to think negatively of her, even more so than other strangers that her father has introduced her to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, really?” the boy asks accusingly, getting in her face before taking his backpack off and using a napkin to cover the gum.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looks up at her, judgement in his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re friends with Chloe, right?” he asks, his words sounding like venom to Marinette.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The question really irked Marinette, but she couldn’t explain why. The answer was “yes”, afterall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why do people keep saying that?” she mumbles to herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Defeated, Marinette sits back down at her desk, crossing her arms and looking downcast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now do you see what I mean about respect?” Chloe asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette sighs, feeling played by Chloe. Things were already going wrong, and Marinette had only been at school for a few minutes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Why didn’t you tell him it was Chloe’s idea?” the boy sitting next to her asks, giving her a different look from before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve known Chloe since I was a little kid. I know she’s not perfect, but I can’t throw her under the bus. She’s, like, my only friend,” Marinette explains quietly, wanting to retreat into herself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy smiles before sticking his hand out to Marinette.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m Nino, and it’s time for you to make some new friends, dudette.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette smiles, relieved that someone wasn’t mad at her. She takes Nino’s hand in hers, and the two shake. A little time passes before a tall woman walks into the room and stands behind the desk at the front of the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Alright, class. I’m going to take attendance,” she says, picking up a clipboard, “Agreste, Marinette?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Here,” Marinette says, raising her hand before lowering it and looking at her palm curiously.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking thoughts of wonder as to how she knew to do that away, Marinette tunes back in as the teacher calls Chloe’s name next.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Present!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Bruel, Ivan?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Jarringly, Stoneheart rushes up to the door, punching it down to slam against the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Present!” the akuma roared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette jolts back in fear, but then Stoneheart suddenly disappears in the blink of an eye. Looking around her, she sees that no one else is in a panic, as if they hadn’t seen the akuma that had just been there. Then, she notices the door, the door that was still on its hinges, closed, as it should be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘What’s going on?’ Marinette thinks to herself, her stomach filling with dread.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As attendance continued as perfectly normal, Marinette looked over at the boy on the other side of the aisle, who had his arms crossed as well. He was looking at the phone of the girl sitting next to him, and the two were talking quietly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cesaire, Alya?” the teacher calls out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The girl with glasses sitting next to the boy raised her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Present.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dupain-Cheng, Adrien?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The boy raises his hand, saying the same thing as the girl next to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘Adrien…’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Memories that she had no way of knowing flashed before her eyes, all involving Adrien. She gazed at him as images of the two of them dancing, laughing in the rain, and her kissing his cheek while cupping his face played out in front of her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette’s heart beated even faster, and she stifled her heavy breathing as her mind raced, worrying that something was wrong with her as these were definitely not her memories. She had never seen this boy before, right? They never did any of that stuff, and yet…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘...It seems so real…’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Nino is able to sense that something was wrong with Marinette, and he assumes that she’s still caught up on the gum incident, although that feels like it happened years ago to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Dudette, you wanna make friends, right? Well, go talk to Adrien. Y’know, about the chewing gum.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What should I say to him?” Marinette asks, still feeling, somewhat, in a daze.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Just be yourself,” Nino says, shooting finger-guns and smiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette smiles back, beginning to think of how to apologize to Adrien, even though she didn’t place the gum down on his seat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day passed, and, by the time school let out, it was already raining. As Marinette walked through the large doorway separating the courtyard from the outside world, she saw Adrien up ahead, holding his arm out to feel the rain drop on his hand. As she passed him, she stopped, her umbrella sitting awkwardly in her hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” she says softly, waving at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He huffs and turns his head away, and Marinette lowers her hand. She opens her umbrella and begins walking to her father’s car, but she only makes it a few steps before stopping.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat, I swear,” she says honestly, “I’ve never been to school before. I’ve never had friends...It’s all sorta new to me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette shrugs to herself before turning back to see if he was still there. When their eyes lock, she smiles warmly, extending out her hand so that the umbrella covers his head rather than hers. They gaze at each other for a moment, and thunder rumbles in the distance, making Marinette’s heart beat even faster than it already was, though she tried her best to keep a calm expression.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After a moment, he tentatively reaches his hand out, accepting the umbrella. Their fingers brush in the exchange, and she can feel the warmth of his hand. Neither of them move for a moment, not until the umbrella suddenly snaps shut around his head and shoulders without warning. Marinette can’t stop herself, and she begins laughing. Adrien peeks out from under the umbrella, and he begins laughing, too.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“See you tomorrow,” she says, composing herself while still smiling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Walking down the steps towards the car, she feels Plagg tug at the lining of her jacket, and she stops walking to look down at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“First day of school and we already have two love-birds,” Plagg teases.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette puffs, grinning at the kwami.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Whatever, he’s just a friend. A...friend,” Marinette whispers, looking back at Adrien and blushing before continuing to the car.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Getting in the car, she rests her head against the window. As her bodyguard begins driving her away, she gazes at Adrien, watching him as he picks his backpack back up and begins walking away, holding her umbrella as he makes his way down the steps through the rain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette lets out a breath of air that she didn’t know she was holding, and she closes her eyes, leaning back in her seat as she smiles softly.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Marinette leaped through the skies of Paris as her superhero persona, relishing in the freeing feeling of the wind roaring through her hair as she ran faster than she could ever dream of. During one leap between rooftops, she closes her eyes, smiling widely. When she lands, she opens her eyes and jolts back at the sight of Mister Bug standing in front of her, although he was wearing her miraculous.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, hello again, m’lady,” he says, taking her hand in his and leaning down to kiss it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looks down and sees that, rather than being clothed in black and claws, her hand was covered with red and black polka-dots. She yanks her hand back, looking at it in confusion as her breathing grew heavy and ragged.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug? Is something wrong?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you just call me?” Marinette asks, beginning to feel overwhelmed and dizzy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug?” he calls out to her again, though he sounded farther away than he was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Time slows as Marinette begins falling over, her head feeling fuzzy. When her body collides with the rooftop, her head bolts off of her pillow. Panting, Marinette takes in the sight of her dark bedroom, and she feels her sweat-soaked sheets covering her. On the pillow next to her, Plagg snored away, oblivious to what just happened.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s happening to me?” Marinette whispers, clutching the sides of her head as she drew her knees up to her chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unable to get her breathing under control, tears began slowly rolling down her cheeks. By the time that she was able to calm herself down, the sun had already risen, its pale orange streaks shining through the window and cascading on the objects of her room. Sighing, Marinette disables her alarm before it can go off, and she begins getting ready for the day.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For weeks, she hasn’t been able to shake away the feeling that everything that happened around her had already happened before, although it always seemed a bit different than how she felt they were supposed to be. She and Mister Bug were able to take down akumas with ease, even though she sometimes found it jarring how familiar they all seemed to be; she was able to guess that the Bubbler was Nino almost immediately.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Everything felt off, though she dared not to say anything, for she knew she would probably sound crazy to anyone she could get to listen. She didn’t even say anything to her partner, although she got the feeling that he was experiencing what she was as well. She couldn’t ignore the multiple times he randomly reached behind his back just to grab at air and look confused before grabbing his yo-yo. They both were also guilty of acting as if they had already known each other for years, although that could be chalked up to how unique of a circumstance they both share.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug?” she heard Mister Bug’s voice say again, though it sounded like an echo that time, not to mention more pleading than before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette ignored it and finished brushing her teeth before getting dressed. She ushers Plagg into her jacket before heading downstairs to go to school. There was time before class started, so she decided to head to the library to get some studying done. After all, her father would be furious if her grades dropped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, as soon as she opened the door, she knew immediately that studying was not going to be happening. In front of her, several of her classmates were crowded around a TV, and Max was sitting down in front of it next to Nino. Somehow, she knew that what she was looking at were tryouts for some competition, but she couldn’t remember what it was for until she looked up. On the screen, the two were facing off in a match of Ultimate Mecha Strike III.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Memories flashed in front of Marinette, but they were wildly conflicting. In some, she was completely by herself, playing alone in her room. In others, she was playing with her dad in the living room. Wait, what? No, that’s wrong. That’s not her living room, and that’s certainly not her dad. Feeling nauseous, Marinette had to lean back against the wall, her head spinning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She barely even noticed when the match ended, naming Max as the victor. Kim was exclaiming something about how it was no contest as to whether Max would win or not. The noise was loud and jarring, and she wanted it to stop. There had been only quiet chatter during the match, so maybe it would return to that for another.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I give it a shot?” she asked, although, to her, she heard herself saying something else but something similar, something familiar.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Max turned slightly in his seat, eyeing her up and down. The way he looked at her made her blood boil, as if she just knew that he was already judging her for abilities he had yet to witness. That propelled her forward, and she plucked the controller out of Nino’s hand before sitting down in the free chair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The rules are elementary, You battle each other's robots with your own and-“ Max had tried to explain before Marinette cut him off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please! Every time you win, you loot its items and gain XP, which upgrades your mech. I'm not a noob, thank you very much,” she interjected, although the words felt forced, as if she were reading off of an invisible script that she had already run through before.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, sounds like you have a sufficient amount of knowledge. Let's see if it's enough to beat me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The screen changed to let them choose their characters, and Marinette found herself instantly picking the ladybug robot like she always does. Except...she doesn’t. She always picks the black cat, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shaking her head, she focuses on the match, determined to win. It’s intense; Max certainly is a challenge. However, she soon gained the upper hand.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“And now, a quarter super plus heavy kick, and Flying Hyper Storm! Triple head combo, Marinette style! Booyah!” she exclaimed, almost springing up to dance in victory before she quickly remembered that she was in public and that she had a reputation to preserve.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What happened, Max?” Kim asked in disbelief.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hmm. Awesome job. We're gonna make a killer combo,” Max says, ignoring Kim and instead holding his hand up in front of Marinette, offering her a high-five.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As she reciprocated it, she turned her head and noticed that, at some point in the match, Adrien had slipped into the room, and he was now whispering to Alya while his eyes darted between her and Marinette. Her heart fluttered in her chest and up her throat, so she could do nothing but silently hand the controller over to Adrien when he asked to try out for the competition.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instead of retreating to the back of the room, she hovered nearby, leaning against a bookcase and crossing her arms as she observed the match. Her spot was already secured since she had beat Max, so it was just a matter of who would be going with her to the tournament. Before she could become lost in thought, she couldn’t help but notice that Adrien had immediately gone for the black cat robot before looking perplexed, just as she had felt. Did he also experience all these senses of deja vu that she was going through? Did he also randomly have memories that didn’t appear to be his own?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before she knew it, Adrien beat Max, and she couldn’t help but smile at how gleeful he looked. The whole room was encompassed by the sounds of gasps, the students surprised beyond surprise that Max had officially lost his place in the competition. Max looked genuinely sorrowful as he stood up and put down his controller, beginning to walk away.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I accept this defeat. I relinquish my position at the tournament. Congratulations, Adrien and Marinette.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette almost said something, almost reached out to try and comfort the boy, but she was startled when Mr. Damocles, the principal, placed his hand on her shoulder, and she looked over to see that he had done the same for Adrien.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So, Marinette Agreste and Adrien Dupain-Cheng will represent Françoise Dupont High School at the Paris Ultimate Mecha Strike III Tournament. Good luck to both of you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, I guess I'll be coming over to practice. With my new partner. See you later,” Marinette exclaimed, waving goodbye to Adrien before walking out of the library with only a couple of minutes left before class began.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The day seemed to go by in a blur, and soon Marinette found herself following Adrien to his house, though it wasn’t much of a walk. When they arrived at the Dupain-Cheng bakery, she went rigid when the smells coming from inside hit her nose as Adrien held the door open for her. She could feel the texture of dough under her palms and the warmth of an oven after being opened. Stifling her breath, Marinette hoped that Adrien didn’t notice her lip trembling as she walked inside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She followed him up the stairs, and when he opened the door to his family’s apartment, she saw Tom and Sabine standing on the other side, smiling at the two of them. Marinette’s eyes grew wide as she gazed at the two, and she could faintly hear the sounds of a little girl laughing along with quick footsteps. Wanting to find the source, she quickly scanned the room. When she glanced over the TV, the screen was on and Ultimate Mecha Strike III was loaded, though it seemed like a round had already been won. When she looked back at it a moment later, the screen was black, turned off.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling dizzy and as if her stomach was turned in knots, Marinette reaches out for something to steady her. When she felt her steadying object squeeze her hand back, she looked down to see that she was holding on to Adrien’s hand. Her eyes travelled up to lock with his, and they both gasped quietly before letting go of each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“We should, um, practice game go! I mean-! We tournament play should! I mean-! We should go practice the game for the tournament,” Adrien fumbles, his cheeks growing more and more pink.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette shook her head and followed Adrien up the stairs to his bedroom. Before she climbed up through the trapdoor, she looked down at Tom and Sabine, not being able to shake away the feeling that she was somehow already close with them. She snaps back to reality and finishes climbing up, closing the trapdoor after her. Straightening up, she slowly looks around the room, her breathing growing even heavier.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One moment, she was crafting a bowler hat. The next, she was dancing in front of the computer screen. Then, she was laying on the floor and writing in a diary. And then some of her classmates were there, and they were all laughing. Marinette was filled with a warmth in her chest as a sense of calm washed over her. However, that was ripped away when that all faded and she was left standing in the room with just Adrien, who was sitting down at his desk and motioning for a chair set up next to him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug,” he says, though his lips formed other words that Marinette didn’t hear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What did you call me?” Marinette asks, being crushed by the air around her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In front of her eyes, a small, red light appeared before zipping around her head, out of sight. As Marinette whipped around to find out what that was, she was greeted with a few mannequins dressed in different outfits of varying completion but not a red light.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug, fight this!” a high-pitched female voice calls out from inside her ear.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tikki?” Marinette mumbles, the name slipping out of her mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien stiffens up, his eyes growing wide. Marinette squeezes her eyes shut, clutching her forehead. Before she even registers that she’s falling over, Adrien is already rushing over to her. They both end up on the floor with him looking over her in worry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette? Are you okay?” Adrien asked, panicking.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her vision blurring and moving, she reaches up to cup his face in the hope of grounding herself. As she reaches up, her fingers barely brush against his earring, and the room is whipped away. In its place, she sees herself on a candlelit rooftop at night, and Mister Bug with the cat miraculous is standing in front of her, giving her a rose and kissing her cheek. Then it’s day again, and the two are bumping fists next to a confused citizen. Seamlessly, they are next in perfect sync, fighting an akuma. Finally, she sees him reaching out to her, panic and pain in his eyes as she extends out a staff with a pair of earrings in a glass dome on the handle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gasping for air, Adrien reappears in front of her eyes, looking down at her with the same worry that Mister Bug had been showing just before. No...that’s not his name, not then…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Chat Noir?” Marinette whispers, her head feeling as if a boulder was in her skull.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She reaches up to her own ear, feeling how the lobe was empty. Flashes of a black butterfly fluttering in front of her, Hawkmoth grinning connivingly, and Chat Noir reaching out to her with tears in his eyes appear in front of her in quick succession.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None of this is real,” she breathes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a loud, sharp clap of thunder, Marinette was standing next to the trapdoor again, and Adrien was still sitting in one of the chairs set up in front of his desk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Did you say something?” he asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Unbeknownst to either of them, the blue skies of Paris turned a dark shade of purple, the color of a corrupted akuma butterfly.</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Did you say something?” Adrien asks.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette couldn’t respond, her wide eyes trained on the floor. Her life resurfaces in her mind, both good and bad memories crashing into her and threatening to knock her to the ground. She looked up at Adrien, tears welling up in her eyes and blurring her vision.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette?” he calls out, standing up and crossing over to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No,” she whimpers, covering her eyes with the palms of her hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She feels Adrien put his hands on her shoulders, but she can’t stand to look at him. He wasn’t real; none of this was real. She wasn’t really an Agreste; he was. He wasn’t really a Dupain-Cheng; she was. They were living each other’s lives-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>‘Wait, no, this is wrong. Hawkmoth...he said I would trade with Chat Noir…!’</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette’s head shoots up, and she takes a shaky breath as her eyes lock with Adrien’s. She clasps her hands together against her chest, and she truly looks at him, seeing Chat Noir without the mask.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Adrien? I…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Still lightly holding her, he ducks his head slightly to be level with her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette, what’s wrong?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks, and she gasped before throwing herself into his arms, embracing him and burying her face in his neck. His eyes grow wide in shock, and his arms hang freely in the air before he returns the embrace, despite not understanding whatever Marinette was going through.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Feeling more of her weight lean into him, he eases them both down to their knees so as not to fall over. He cranes his neck to try and look at her, and she in turn pulls away to do the same. Though she was still crying, she cracked a smile, one that held relief and pain at once.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette-”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re my partner! It’s you! It’s been you all along!” she says through small giggles before covering her mouth with her hands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Partner?...M’lady?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes!” Marinette exclaims, nodding her and letting her hands fall to her lap.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How did-how did you find out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That question rips the smile off of Marinette’s face, and, with another clap of thunder that aligned with a pang in her chest, her posture slumps, and she can no longer look Adrien in the eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, Adrien. I-...I couldn’t resist an akuma, and it took over me,” Marinette began to explain, her voice trembling.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean? You’ve never been akumatized. I would’ve remembered; I would’ve protected you!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You tried! You really did. I think, I think you’re still trying.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette, you’re not making any sense. What’re you talking about?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“None of this is real. You, me, our memories of our current lives: all of it is under the power of the akuma. I was so stressed and upset, and we were fighting, and I had </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupidly</span>
  </em>
  <span> wished that I could trade places with you.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien looked at her with shock and disbelief, as if he would’ve given anything to not believe her. Marinette could sense that he wasn’t convinced, and it’s not like she could blame him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You know...you know how you get extreme cases of feeling like you’ve seen things already? And how we just </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> how to defeat akumas, as if we’ve already faced them? It’s because we have! This isn’t real, Adrien.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He let go of her, and he looked ready to completely fall over and pass out. His eyes darted back and forth in a horizontal line, as if his mind was connecting invisible dots. When he finally came to the conclusion that what Marinette was saying had to be true, realization dawned on his face before it was quickly replaced by dread.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“So...what now? If we’re not real, and we know we’re not real, what do we do about it? Do we, do we just go about our day as if it doesn’t even matter that our lives are fake, nothing more than fabrications created by the evil entity controlled by our enemy?” Adrien rambled, his voice cracking as he spoke quickly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Thunder boomed at a deafening roar, and it felt as if the entire world shook as lightning struck the earth. Several things fell over and crashed into the floor, and a dizzy spell overcame Marinette. Still, she managed to stand up despite terror wanting to pull her down to crushing depths.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What was that?” she exclaimed, scrambling over to the bed that was really her own and climbing up it to look through the skylight.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she did, she couldn’t help but fail to stifle her gasp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What is it?” Adrien asked, starting to climb up as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It looks like we don’t really have the option of just going about our day anymore,” Marinette said, pointing at the sky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Above them, purple was overshadowed by even darker clouds, blue lightning offering brief illumination. Strong, howling winds whipped various items through the air, creating loud crashing sounds as they collided into other things. Dark rain plummeted through the sky, hammering into buildings and roads like boulders. And, through it all, hundreds, if not thousands, of black butterflies floated about, terrorizing the citizens of Paris.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette pushed through the skylight, emerging onto the terrace as her eyes scanned through the skies. What she was looking for, however, she wasn’t sure of.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Is this one of this world’s akumas, or is it your own?” Adrien had to shout so that he could be heard over the storm as he also climbed up onto the balcony.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t know, but we’ll have a better chance of finding out if we’re transformed! Plagg, claws out!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tikki, spots on!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two transformed into Lady Noire and Mister Bug before springing out into the city, whipping their heads around to try and spot an akuma that could be causing this much disaster. Could it be that Hawkmoth himself was causing this? That his powers had exceeded such lengths that he could do something like this? However, with each and every passing moment, it became more and more mockingly obvious that the desperate search was futile.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady Noire’s foot slipped on the rain-soaked roof, and she almost fell off. Before she could, Mister Bug grabbed her, pulling her close to his chest as he embraced her, their eyes wide.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“M’lady, I’m not seeing anything but butterflies!” he exclaimed, the storm roaring louder than ever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The akuma has to be somewhere! Or Hawkmoth-“</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette,” Mister Bug said, softer now as he gazed into her eyes, “I don’t think this is an akuma that you stand a chance against while you’re still here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No! I-we know who we are now! I don’t want to just leave you behind! We can still fix this, together!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The butterflies began swirling around them at an intense velocity unachievable by any natural insect, as if trying to make them the eye of a tornado.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug,” Mister Bug began again, his voice echoing as if someone else was saying his words, as well, “it’s okay. There’s only one way to fix this, and I know you’re strong enough to do it.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I don’t want to.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tears pricked at Lady Noire’s eyes, and she took Mister Bug’s hands in hers before resting her forehead against his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I know, but you’re going to anyway. Do you remember the akumatized object?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was hard to think over the screaming storm and swarming black butterflies that were slowly circling closer and closer to crush them. Lady Noire grit her teeth, trying to recall the moments just before this all started. She could remember the fight, the emotions, the butterfly, her akumatization weapon...but there was just a blank where the memory of her actual akumatization was.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. I can’t remember,” she responded, shaking her head in despair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mister Bug tried to wrack his brain, as well, able to see Marinette wearing the activated ladybug miraculous clearly. His memory of her akumatized form was somewhat hazy, but what was before that? What-...</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The earrings!” they both exclaimed at the same time, the memory clicking as one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have to destroy the earrings and release the akuma! Use your cataclysm!” Mister Bug has to scream, the storm raging enough to force the earth into a constant tremble.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady Noire nods her head in understanding, and she reaches up towards Mister Bug’s earrings, but she stops when her eyes shift over to his, their gazes locking as her hand freezes to hover in the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you...do you think we’ll remember this? Remember each other’s identity?” she asks, knowing full well that there’s no way he could have an answer.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m not sure,” he says simply, understanding that no words he could come up with would comfort her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Everything hurts so much in the real world. Fu is gone, Lila and Chloe are unbearable, and you…All of that will be true again if I go back.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mister Bug nods in understanding, his eyes sorrowful, and Lady Noire finds herself using her other hand to wipe away some stray tears. She had to take a deep breath, however shaky, to ground herself and come to a decision.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Cataclysm.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Touching just one finger to the earring, it cracks. Rather than an akuma fluttering out of it, the swarm of black butterflies surrounding them dive towards them, seeping into the earrings. The world begins to crumble and fall away as the last of the akumas disappear inside the earrings, but Lady Noire and Mister Bug only gaze at each other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“All I know is that, before this, during this, and after this, I love you, my lady,”  he says, no longer having to shout.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Lady Noire winces before smiling, her eyes completely watery now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wraps her arms around his neck, and, as the world is consumed in a blinding light with the last of its destruction, they kiss each other, becoming lost in the sense of each other’s touch before fading away, as well.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Dame de Paix’s eyes grew wide, and she stumbled back a few steps. Before her, Adrien gazed up from where he had fallen to his knees after his miraculous was ripped from him, a mix of terror, pain, sorrow, and relief on his face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug, please, fight it!” he pleads, getting to his feet as she finally seemed to be able to see him again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gazed at him, faltering, before looking at her staff, which still held the ladybug and black cat miraculouses.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do not lose your way, Dame de Paix. You need to hold up your end of the deal,” Hawkmoth’s voice spoke from all around her, within her head.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No matter who I am, where I come from, or who I believe myself to be, I will always be strong. I will always be brave. I will always be the guardian of the miraculous! I will always be Ladybug!” she exclaimed, her resolve firm as she holds her staff high over her head before swinging it down, the glass shattering and setting the miraculouses, along with the akuma, free.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Their transformations return to the two teens, and they become Ladybug and Chat Noir once again. Grabbing her yo-yo, she unlocks it before swinging it at the butterfly.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She’s able to catch it within her yo-yo before pulling it back to her to purify it with the press of a button.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gotcha! Bye bye, little butterfly,” she says, releasing a white butterfly out into the blue Parisian sky.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She gazes after it for a moment before looking over at Chat Noir just in time to watch him tackle her in a hug. He held her tight enough that she couldn’t breathe properly, although she may have felt like that regardless. Either way, she made no move to back up or push him off of her. Instead, she embraced him as well as they both collapsed to their knees.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I thought...I thought I lost you forever. You were so still that you could’ve been mistaken for a statue. Even after my transformation gave out, I-I couldn’t leave you!” Chat said shakily, still trying to calm down.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“How long...how long was I akumatized?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“An hour, maybe? I never looked at the time.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ladybug could feel herself pale, and dread washed over her with recollection of her time as an Agreste. It had been weeks, months, maybe, and to know that it was actually just a blip of time made her feel weak and tired.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, Chat Noir: for the fight, for being akumatized, for taking your miraculous; all of it,” she said, her voice trembling as her vision blurred.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug, it’s alright. I’m just glad that you’re safe.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, it’s not fine! You were right! I haven’t been listening to you, and I undermined your struggles in order to put emphasis on my own. But, as an akuma, I got to see it for myself, and I hate that it took seeing it to believe you. I should’ve just believed you from the start.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her voice was getting higher in pitch as she talked faster, almost not stopping for air between breaths.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ladybug?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I had gotten my wish, Chaton; we had switched lives. And, in doing so, I learned that it’s not easy or freeing for you at all.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Whether she was still actually talking to him or more so to herself at this point, he wasn’t sure. It was hard to make sense of what she was saying, considering he had watched her the whole time that she was vacant, and he had no memory of their lives being switched. Then, something clicks for him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Wait, if you remember who you became when we ‘switched’ or whatever, does that mean that you remember who I really am?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her head snapped up, and, for a brief moment, he was worried that he had pushed the wrong button. However, when he looked closer, he saw that there wasn’t anger, frustration, or dismissal in her eyes. Instead, there was just worry and sadness, and that was far worse.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, and, in the other world, you knew who I was, too, for a brief moment,” she breathes after a moment, not able to look at her partner anymore, “I’m not sure how you felt about it, because I had realized that Adrien and my partner, my best friend, were one and the same when I figured out that the other world wasn’t real, and I had told him, you, as soon as I could calm down enough to speak.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I was there with you when you found out?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. We were at what’s really my house practicing for the gaming tournament. In the other world, we had started over from the day that we had gotten our miraculouses, going back through our time as heroes but from each other’s perspectives.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Gaming tournament? But...that would mean-?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Tikki, spots off.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Before Chat Noir’s eyes, Ladybug was consumed in a soft, pink glow that faded to reveal Marinette, who was smiling weakly at him as she watched for any sort of reaction. His jaw fell slightly, so many realizations hitting him at once, but he quickly snapped his mouth shut.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s you...after all this time, it’s really been you!” he exclaimed, unable to hide his joy.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>At his words, she visibly relaxed, and her smile became as genuine as his.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, kitty, it’s me.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Chat reached up, using his thumb to wipe away a stray tear falling down her cheek. Noticing his leather-covered hand, he gazed at it for a moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Plagg, claws in.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Adrien appeared in front of her, and she felt so oblivious for not having been able to see it for. Maybe, before, it was that she couldn’t see him, not really. But now? She was able to see every side of him, and she felt herself growing only deeper in love.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Mister Bug’s final words came back to her, how he told her that he always had and always will love her. Part of her wanted to wish on every shooting star that that was still true, but part of her hauntingly reminded her of where they really stood. Adrien had moved on, right?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette can’t help but gasp quietly when both of Adrien’s hands move up to cradle her face as he tilts her head slightly to completely face him. The way he held her so gently, how close they were...it made her heart flutter in a way she felt guilty for. She shouldn’t want this. She can’t want-!</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Marinette, may I kiss you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The question caught her completely off-guard, making her eyes grow wide. Did she hear him right? Nervously, she nods her head before closing her eyes, no longer completely sure if this world was the real one, either.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>However, when Adrien pulled her closer, and their lips brushed against each other’s, the electricity she felt shoot through her entire body was enough confirmation to tell her that it very much was real. It was beautifully, beautifully real. And when they broke away, his real eyes shimmered brightly as he gazed into her own. And the words he said next rang with perfect clarity.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, Marinette. Past, present, future, any timeline or persona we take, I love you, my lady.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Marinette couldn’t help but smile wildly and kissing him again after responding.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I love you, too, Adrien, and nothing will ever stop us from being partners.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And nothing ever, ever did.</span>
</p>
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